Creek Connections to Showcase Waterway Research by Pittsburgh-area Students

April 13, 2015 – Creek Connections will host its 13th annual Pittsburgh area student research symposium on Friday, April 17 at YMCA Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Fombell, just west of Zelienople. Community members are invited to view students’ project displays from 9 to 11 a.m. at the camp.

Creek Connections is an outreach program of Allegheny College that brings hands-on, inquiry-based education about watersheds to students ranging in age from elementary to high school.

Throughout the school year, participating students retrieve water samples and conduct research on various waterways, monitoring the conditions that affect the creeks’ water quality. At the research symposium, they come together to share interactive research displays and hands-on workshops with their classmates, teachers and the community.

Approximately 400 students from southwestern Pennsylvania will attend the symposium. Several environmental organizations will present displays, and a number of participating schools will give presentations. Participants will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Allegheny College.

Among the schools planning to participate are Clairton Education Center, Gateway Middle School, Holy Redeemer School, Hopewell Memorial Junior High, North Allegheny High School, North Hills High School, Quaker Valley High School, Riverside Middle School, Seneca Valley School District, Shady Side Academy Middle School, West Mifflin Area High School, Wilkinsburg Middle School, Woodland Hills Middle School, Riverview High School, Shadyside Academy Senior School, Pittsburgh CAPA Middle School and the Homeschool Group.

A symposium on April 24, on the Allegheny College campus, will showcase the work of students from northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York.

During the past year, Creek Connections has been supported by Allegheny College and individual donors as well as by grants from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Bayer USA Foundation, Bayer Cares Foundation, Buhl Foundation, Grable Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Creek Connections also received support during the past year through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program from Fluidraulics Inc.; Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield; Northwest Savings Bank; PNC Capital Markets, LLC; and Waste Management.

For more information on the Pittsburgh symposium, contact Wendy Kedzierski at 814-332-5351 or visit creekconnections.allegheny.edu.